


Of A Good Partner.

by siruru



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Crush, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Dancing Lessons, Developing Relationship, F/M, Love at First Sight, Mutual Pining, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Puppy Love, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-18 20:57:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14860173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siruru/pseuds/siruru
Summary: In which Bucky is in puppy love with the cute dance instructor, but does she feel the same way?





	Of A Good Partner.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [valiant_muffin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/valiant_muffin/gifts).



> My friend @valiant-studmuffin showed me a cute song and this come to be! It’s in the story if ya’ll wanna listen to it.

Grandma Jen always had your best intentions in mind, even if she showed it in odd ways. That one time she left you in the chicken coup, that other time she left you at the bus station, these were a lot of those moments but she did it out of a place of love – at least, you hope so. In this moment, with her smiling face looking at you from across the dining table, you know that it would be one of those moments too. Her eyes crinkles as you take another bit of your sandwich, mentally preparing yourself. You could only do so much. **  
**

“I may have a favor to ask from you,” the older woman starts, as you stop everything to look at her. This is weird because she never asked, she usually did something and then dealt with the consequences. You were only happy you didn’t deal with the horror stories your father once told you.

“How can I help you, gran-gran?” you smile and take a slip of your drink, as she grins.

“I was wondering if you could lead my swing class this quarter,” she explains, “The old instructor got pregnant and left. No teacher, no class, kid.”

“You already signed me up, didn’t ya?” You question as she gives you that quirky smile you know so well. You shake your head and sigh, but both of you know that you can’t say no to her and dancing is something that you love so much.

“What time and day?” you ask without a fight, as her hearty laugh echoes in the dining room.

“Tuesdays at 4pm,” she grins out and you hope that you aren’t making a mistake.

* * *

Bucky Barnes hopes that he isn’t making a mistake, as he makes his way into the small community center. After returning to New York from Wakanda, Bucky wasn’t immediately put on the Avengers, he was being watched and allowed to catch up and immerse himself into the 70+ years he had missed, His own personal journey and talking with others had lead to the revived interest in dancing, but he learned quickly that dancing in clubs wasn’t the same from his day. It took him some research and begrudging help from Sam to find a place where he could do such a thing again, and they did – in a elderly swing class near the VA center.

Thus, Bucky Barnes ends up sitting with a group of elderly people, that are definitely younger than him, who are actively talking with each other. He sits awkwardly close to the door and waits until he sees another older woman walk in with the a young woman wearing a nice white blouse and black skirt with ballet flats.

“Hello, since Mrs. Peterson is on leave for the rest of her pregnancy,” the woman declares, as she gains Bucky’s complete attention, “I will be your dance instructor for this course.”

She proceeds to talk about all the types of dances that they will be relearning and going through in this advance course and the “dance” that happens for everyone and their families at the end. She reads of the list of names, but Bucky’s head is in the clouds over how pretty she looks when his name is finally called up.

“Barnes, James,” the sound of his name pulls him out his wayward daydream, as he simply nods at her as she smiles.  She puts her paperwork down and claps her hands together before going to the old record player near the corner of the room.

“Now, please partner up, so we can begin,” she instructs, as the all the elderly woman seem to  head towards the former Winter Soldier, while all she does is laugh at the sight.    

* * *

It’s a lie to say that Bucky doesn’t feel like he’s in his heyday again, as all the woman clamor to dance with him at some point throughout the class. While, you wish for all of them to have one steady partner, that seems to fly out the window most of the time but most of the men seem to understand as they shake their heads and laugh. Now, Bucky Barnes is a gentleman and tries to give all his dance partners equal attention, but he can’t help following you across the room as you give out instructions.

“Do you like the instructor?” one of his more frequent dance partners, Betty, asks as blue eyes flicker from her form to yours, as you sway back and forth to the music in the front of the room.

Bucky falters in his steps for a moment, which causes everyone to look at him to make sure he is okay. Betty just dismisses the extra coddling, as you nod and proceed to move around the room. After sometime, you proceed to the next dance, though you declare that you will need a partner to show them the next part, but before anybody else can volunteer.   

“Right here,” Betty declares enthusiastically as you smile and nod, “Probably the only one that can handle ya.”

You laugh, as she pushes Bucky to the front of the room. He nods as you begin a [familiar song](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DlAtsEamz6XI&t=ODQyMDAxYWZjYTk0MTAyMjBjNmY0Zjk3NWJmNWMxNjFkYzFhZDEwYSxsSEVGWVNlRw%3D%3D&b=t%3ARX4SnYt_TIYMwvxNWhVbfA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-canary.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F174618935636%2Fof-a-good-partner-bb) before putting a hand on his right shoulder while instructing the others to follow your lead. Blue eyes are looking at you, as you switch from looking at your footing to the rest of the class though your own dancing never falters – like you have been doing this forever.

“You’re a good teach,” Bucky says quietly, hoping you don’t hear him but those wide eyes and small smile tell him a different story. And for a moment, he’s awe-struck.

“Thank you,” you nod, as he twirls you around for the moment, “It’s actually my first time teaching in awhile.”

You laugh and Bucky is sure he’s done for.     

* * *

Four weeks of dreamy sighs, boyish glances, and silly daydreams and it’s in one moment that Bucky decides that he might be in love. He gets there extra early with a box of baked goods from the bakery shop not to far away from the center. He knows you are going to be there because aside from the first class, you were always early to set up the music and refreshments – sometimes with your grandmother (a fact he learned about during the 2nd week) would be there, sometimes no. James was hoping for the latter, but he was welcomed instead with hushes voices near the entrance of the dancing room.

“–if he isn’t a danger,” a voice continues, and Bucky drops his head towards the wall because he knows who they are talking about. It was good while it lasted, he thought wearily as the voice continues on with the worry that their parent was attending dance class with the Winter Soldier, as an older voice tried to stop them. Bucky knew it had to be either Janine or Betty, since they always liked dancing with him.

“I just think–” the voice is ready to go on another tirade.   

“If you’re going to complain without any facts, please keep your mouth shut,” your voice rings loudly in Bucky’s head as the first voice stops, “Mr. Barnes is exactly who he is, nothing more and nothing less and we at our dance class are not here to judge him, but to learn alongside with him. If Mrs. Lawson has any personal complaints, she knows exactly who to go to.”

“No complaints here, Miss,” Bucky can’t help but chuckle lightly at the smug, elderly voice as the younger one lets out an agitated mother. A resounding clap ends all discussion as heavy footsteps tell Bucky that the 3rd person is leaving, as Betty laughs.

“You did good there, sweetheart,” the older woman exclaims and apologizes for her daughter’s worrisome behavior, but you seem to understand and Bucky can’t help but be thankful for two certain gals in his life right now.   

* * *

It’s the fifth week in when Bucky realizes that he would like to ask you out on a real date, not just those that he likes to imagine everyday of the week that he doesn’t get to see you. However, he also knows that he isn’t the same man that he once was, in terms of both charm and that he can’t really sweep you off your feet with his dance moves when you probably know more than him. That wasn’t the only thing he thought about though.

“I’m old enough to be her great-grandpa at this point,” Bucky mumbles to himself during the end of the fifth class, as he walks with one of the men from class, Clark, to the front of the building. At this point, the lovestruck man was looking for any advice that might push him away from making a mistake, Steve and Sam weren’t much help.

“James, I look old enough to be her grandfather. You’re just, what do the kids say these days a  _stud muffin_. Be happy, kid,” the man smiles, certainly not giving him the answer that Bucky was hoping for, before patting him on the back and walking to where his wife was waiting for him.

Bucky watches the old couple walk away hand in hand smiling, and he briefly wonders if he could have that – if he has the right to be happy.

* * *

The thing that Bucky doesn’t know is that you have fallen quite hard for him as well. Besides being such  good dance partner, you enjoyed talking to him before and after class. You loved how he opened up about all the things he knew, how space and technology fascinated him, his dedicated friendship to Steve Rogers. He was a shy but charming man with bright blue eyes and a smile you found yourself wanting to see more of for a very long time.  And like with all your crushes, grandma was the first one to figure it out.

“You really think I should ask him out?” you ask, as the two of you eat dinner again.

“Sweetheart, at this point I just want you to get laid,” she explains crassily as you choke a bit on your drink, though she adds as an afterthought, “But you deserve to be happy too.”

“Really?” you murmur softly, almost as if you don’t believe her. She looks at your in disbelief because she knows that life and love hasn’t always been easy for you, but she still wishes and hope for the best. However, she isn’t the type of woman to say those things out loud.

“Either you go after him or I will,” she grins and shrugs.

“Grandma!” you yell in mock rage, before the two of you break into bouts of laughter.

“Closer to my age than yours, sweetheart,” is all she says as the laughter dies down, but she knows that heartbreaking smile on your face too well and can’t help but doubt that you let fear get in the way once again.

* * *

Two weeks pass and no questions are ever exchanged.

“Please remember to bring any friends and family to our last class,” you declare with a bright smile on your face, as the group nods. Some of them linger for a few minutes as they watch you and Bucky exchange pleasantries before he leaves.

“Kids these days, I swear,” Grandma Jen declares, as Clark and Betty can’t help but shake their heads in annoyance.

* * *

The last class starts a little bit after 5pm with several friends and family members joining your small group of students for a evening of dancing and just a general good time. Everyone wanted to talk to you in regards to the positives your class had done for them, happy relatives giving you compliments, or others wondering if you would continue with the dance course. And while, nothing was set in stone in regards to the dancing course, you were thinking about opening more classes in the dancing studio you worked at part time – everyone was happy to hear that. You ran around filling refreshments and taking pictures, though keenly aware that a certain super soldier hasn’t arrived yet.   

You tried not to think of all the other things that he might have to do, like saving the world. What you didn’t know was that his friends had to goad the nervous wreck of the former Winter Soldier to the center after he had declared that he was gonna finally ask you on date right in front of them. It isn’t until the end of the event, as more people start streaming out than in and you are sitting down enjoying the moment, that you finally give up on the idea of James coming at all. You heave a disappointed sigh.

“Dance with me?” a sudden deep and nervous voice breaks you out of your sad little cloud, as you turn up to see Bucky, dressed in a crisp button up blue shirt, dress slacks, and his hair swept back into a neat bun. There’s a shaky smile on lips, but you swear your heart still skips a bit.

You don’t trust your own voice and simply nod, as he takes your hand and leads you to the nearly empty dance floor. The only people on the sidelines now are your grandmother and people who you had only seen on the television before – Captain America and The Falcon.

The [music moves](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dn8Wx80TZ8OQ&t=Njg1YjBlMDZjMzc5NTA4OWNhOGYwMzM2YzM5OTI2ODM2Yjc1YWI2NyxsSEVGWVNlRw%3D%3D&b=t%3ARX4SnYt_TIYMwvxNWhVbfA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-canary.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F174618935636%2Fof-a-good-partner-bb) into something more preppy and you find yourself twirling and spinning a bit more than before. You laugh lightly, and in that little moment Bucky decides he can’t be afraid anymore, that he wants to hear more of that sound for as long as he can.

“I was wondering if I could take out you sometime,”Bucky finally asks with a small smile, hoping that the sudden blush on your face is a good sign, “Ya know dinner and maybe even a movie.”

“I’d loved that, but maybe ask my grandma first,” you grin as blue eyes turn to see your grandmother actively talking to the two men, but she must have noticed Bucky looking in her direction.

“YOU WINE AND DINE HER, BEEFCAKE!” Grandma Jen yells from her place as you seen her talking to Captain America and you could only frown at what she might be putting him through. However, all those thoughts stop as Bucky spins, you laugh at the huge smile on his face.

“Guess, I can’t let her down, huh?” Bucky gives you a playful grin, that almost seems to belong to someone else, to another life.

“No, you can’t,” you giggle as he dips you, dancing for the rest of the night and maybe your lives away.   


End file.
